Population age structure-the comparative size of specific age groups relative to the population as a whole-can help illustrate where countries' risks and opportunities lie in relation to critical issues such as democracy, development and security. In fact, the influence of age structure on a state's governance, risk of an outbreak of civil conflict, and economic development is both significant and quantifiable. Given these linkages, investments in family planning, infant and maternal health, education and economic opportunities for girls, women and young people can vastly affect the shape of things to come.

In 1994, at the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), 179 nations agreed on a plan for achieving universal access to basic reproductive health care by 2015. Today, vast differences remain in reproductive health status between rich and poor countries. The HIV/AIDS pandemic exacts a growing toll in human lives and threatens economic growth in some of the world's poorest countries. Donors focused on achieving the Millennium Development Goals – and concerned with poverty reduction, human rights, health and development – must help ensure the adequate flow of financial resources (referred to as population assistance) for sexual and reproductive health services.

The world's forests provide goods and services essential to human and planetary well-being. But forests are disappearing faster today than ever before. Due both to deforestation and human population growth, the current ratio of forests to human beings is less thn half what it was in 1960. Yet we not only need more forests, we need forests more than ever before–to protect the world's remaining plant and animal life, to prevent flooding, to slow human-induced climate change, and to provide the paper on which education and communication still depend. More efficient consumption of forest products and eventual stabilization of human population–a prospect that appears more promising today as birthrates decline–will be needed to conserve the world's forests in the coming millennium.

Population growth around the world affects Americans through its impact on the economy, the environment, and safety and health, and the habitability of the world our children will inherit. While tracing cause and effect is difficult the evidence is accumulating that current rates of population growth pose significant and interacting risks to human well-being and are a legitimate concern for Americans.

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) provides international leadership on population issues and is a key source of financial assistance for family planning and reproductive health programs in poor countries. Restoring U.S. funding for UNFPA programs is crucial to improving the health and lives of women and their families and to addressing demographic trends and promoting sustainable development.

The US foreign aid program has expanded access to contraception for millions of couples in developing nations, enabling them to plan their families. The program has also helped to slow population growth rates, making an important contribution to the future quality of life on our planet. Yet the job is far from done. For global family planning efforts to fully succeed, Americans and their leaders must continue to support US population assistance.